Should I Fund A Teleprospecting Program In FYQ4?
Posted by
Chris Lang on Thu, Nov 03, 2023 @ 04:09 PM
I seem to be talking to a lot of people that are in a bit of a holding pattern when it comes to running new marketing campaigns, especially those that involve teleprospecting. The common theory is that during the last two thirds of FYQ4 people are not around, so why use resources calling people that aren’t even there? While there are some industries that you shouldn’t call during certain times, education in late summer, manufacturing during plant shut down, my house during “The Sing Off” (that show is awesome), the majority of industries are ripe to be prospected during FYQ 4. Here is why.
1) Your competition isn’t. One of the best times to prospect into a new company is when they aren’t being hammered by calls from everyone else. My buddy is a CEO and he tells me that during those busy times it all becomes white noise. It’s like shaking hands with people at a networking event. Aside from a case of the “heebie jeebies” that you caught from the guy that had a wet hand when you shook it, you don’t retain a lot of the information of the people you meet. Hence the cryptic notes we write on the back of the cards people give us. (e.g.: nice guy, likes chicken, merry-go-rounds, jello shots, definitely call.) However, you remember everything about the person that you talked to while you were outside waiting for a cab because you actually had time to focus and have a conversation. Don’t be the many, be the person at the cab stand.
2) Get into their head if you want to get into their budget. For most of us, Q4 prospecting shouldn’t be expected to produce Q4 revenue (depending on your sales cycle). The goal of prospecting in Q4 is to build rapport with the right people so that when it comes time for a change, the prospect thinks of you. It just so happens that a lot of changes happen in FYQ1! Initiate conversations telling the prospect that you’d like to establish some communication so that if something comes up, you’ll be able to compete for the business. Come budget time, they will remember you. Even better, if you are the first person in, you have a great chance to set the expectations that the prospect will use when they evaluate your competition. Who do you think has a leg up in the RFP process when you pretty much wrote it?
3) May as well talk to me, you have nothing else going on. Yes I know that from Thanksgiving through New Years there can be less than half the amount of staff in the office at any given time. Yes, you do have less of a chance at connecting with someone. However, the people that ARE there have more time to talk. Think of the Friday after Thanksgiving. No one is bothering you. Your meeting schedule drops. You have less busy work. Your boss is gone and now you’re doing “research” (aka Facebook). Your prospect does the same thing, leaving time for (guess what) them to take a meeting with you! Be prepared to have a lower connection rate than you normally would, but the conversations you do have will be much more productive than the usual Monday “I only have 3 minutes before the world ends” scrambles that you normally have to deal with.
Calling during FYQ4 may seem like a waste if you look at how many people are in the office and what the connect rate is. If that is how you are judged then you should hold off. If you’re judged by revenue numbers in Q1, you may want to make sure your teleprospecting program is running in full gear.